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YMMV / God, the Devil and Bob

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  • Audience-Alienating Premise: Several critics and reviewers have pointed out this as the cause behind the show only lasting one season. It sounded too religious for secular people and too disrespectful of God for religious people. The fact that it tries to do comedy with God but never really dares to go too far is a problem, as fans of edgy shocking comedy like South Park felt the show was too tame and fans of spiritual-based family-friendly shows thought it was too cynical. The fairly bland art style probably didn't help, either.
  • Cult Classic: Despite only a few episodes being aired on TV, the series gain such a strong following that the series was finally released on DVD a few years after it was canceled and was aired on Adult Swim in 2011.
  • Fridge Brilliance:
    • In "Bob's Father" the Devil says that he made up Purgatory and that it wasn't true. Purgatory is never mentioned at all in the Bible, so he's almost certainly not lying.
    • On top of this, the Devil's "Well Done, Son" Guy complex? Christian theology holds that he rebelled because of God's Parental Favoritism towards humans over angels.
    • In "Bob's Father" God explains that the trick to being a father is to pass on a softer punch to their kids than the one their own father gave them. Bob is shown that, while not being that good of a father, he still tries. In that episode alone, Bob berates Andy for leaving his toys scattered around, but apologizes for losing his temper shortly after, even saying he's proud of him. Bob is passing down a softer punch.
    • Bob's overall treatment of Andy is most likely because of his cruddy childhood.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The show did not do well in the United States (mostly due to complaints about the content being blasphemous), but it got better reception outside of the U.S., particularly in the U.K. In fact, being blasphemous was used to market it in Ireland, as it came at a time when the country had become more secular.
  • Heartwarming Moments:
    • The end of the pilot episode where Bob takes Megan to the mall to have her talk about how it's okay for her to take it easy and not be like everyone else. It ends with Megan wanting to take a ride at the old merry-go-round like she did as a child. When they get home, Megan kisses Donna on the cheek as a sign of forgiveness. This act proves to God that Bob does care and decides that he won't restart the world after all.
    • "Bob's Father" is host to several:
    • The final talk Bob has with his father has him use an analogy of a hockey game and Bob wishing he told a star hockey player how much he meant to Bob to illustrate how much he should've spent more time understanding his father. Andy, understanding the analogy, goes, "I think he knows".
    • When God starts butting into Bob's life a bit too much, including injuring someone so he can get an open slot on Bob's softball team, God admits that his behavior is because He's Lonely at the Top - Bob comments that "Maybe [God] DOES know what it's like to be human."
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Alan Cumming voices the Devil. Three years later, he'd be playing Nightcrawler, a character who has a Devil-like appearance but is a devout Catholic.
  • Ho Yay:
    • The episode where the Devil doesn't feel appreciated by God is played out like an old married couple going through relationship counseling.
  • The Scrappy: Megan. Almost everything every word out of her mouth is a whine or complaint about something and she treats her mother like crap.
  • Take That, Scrappy!: Megan did get her comeuppance several times-in "There's Too Much Sex on TV" she makes a sick Donna take her and her friends to a concert and Andy puts a sign on her back that reads "First Concert", in "Bob's Father" she brings home a dog which doesn't listen to her and is very unruly, much to Donna's amusement and in "God's Girlfriend" she gets a severe sunburn.
  • Too Good to Last: Funny without being outrageous, moralizing without being preachy. Sadly, it was beset by Moral Guardian protests for being blasphemous.
  • Unintentional Period Piece:
    • "There's Too Much Sex on TV" starts with Bob watching a brand-new TV like this one. Later, the Devil tells Bob that if he takes sex off TV, it'll go on the Internet, where only the rich can get it. Fastforward a few years, the exact opposite is true: the internet became widely available to everyone, and so did porn sites.
    • Another episode also mentioned Saturn - which has been defunct since 2010.
  • Values Resonance: With child abuse and its effects gaining greater understanding, "Bob's Father" is heavily vaunted for showing sympathy to Bob's mean father while also stressing that Bob had every right to despise him.
  • Vindicated by History: When it first aired, it was rejected by the Christian community and pulled off the air. Since then, it has become lauded as a witty and profound commentary on human nature, and a harbinger of serious animated sitcoms.
  • The Woobie: While he definitely isn't most perfect character on the show, the stuff Bob goes through during the show will make you feel bad for the guy.

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